Q. For the first time, this season of "The Biggest Loser" looks at childhood obesity. How can I use the show to encourage my child's weight-control journey?

A. The child obesity pediatrician for "The Biggest Loser" happens to be Garden City-based Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, author of the program "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" used by the three teens on the show. Dolgoff is scheduled to appear...

Get unlimited digital access $14.99 A MONTH

Q. For the first time, this season of "The Biggest Loser" looks at childhood obesity. How can I use the show to encourage my child's weight-control journey?

A. The child obesity pediatrician for "The Biggest Loser" happens to be Garden City-based Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, author of the program "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" used by the three teens on the show. Dolgoff is scheduled to appear on the Jan. 14th episode. She visits the upstate New York and California homes of the two teen girls, ages 13 and 16, and the Maryland home of the boy, 13, checking out what's in their kitchens and reviewing health issues that may be caused by their weight.

The kids are treated differently than adult contestants -- they won't be weighed on camera and are losing from home instead of the show's ranch. The show will still have the usual three adult teams, with each having a teen "mascot" who won't be eliminated, she says.

Dolgoff is offering a free 60- day trial of the online version of her program at redlightgreen.com.

lighteatright.com; parents can sign up and use it together with their children. "Their kids can do the same program as the kids on the show are doing," she says. Filming is two-thirds finished, and Dolgoff promises viewers will see transformations -- from decreases in Body Mass Index to performance on the Presidential Fitness Test. "I think it would be great for families to watch the show together and have a serious discussion about it," she says.

Coming soon: Newsday's Family newsletter, for things to do with kids, events, more.